RomanPunks is a retrofuturistic, cyberpunk derivative world-building project inspired by fine art, history and the cryptopunk movement.
A total of 1,000 RomanPunk characters have been frozen in time and minted as Non Fungible Tokens (NFTs) on the Ethereum, WAX, Polygon and Algorand blockchains.
RomanPunk characters are comprised of commoners and famous individuals based on Roman history, art history and pop culture.
The basis for RomanPunk lore and backstories is exhaustively researched by history/sci-fi buff and co-founder, Punktavian.
All images are drawn by hand by woman artist and co-founder, Cleopunktra, without the aid of AI or generative tools.
RomanPunks came into existence through early minting on OpenSea, promoting on Twitter and building a Discord community through giveaways and engagement. The idea of a cyberpunk-derivative ‘RomanPunk’ theme was in our heads for years, but it was the success of the Cryptopunks that became the catalyst for project conception and launch.
After a hard working first 60 days spent networking and attracting new collectors to RomanPunks, our community had begun to flourish and sales increased. We began to offer our collectors an opportunity to battle their NFTs in a tournament bracket powered by dice rolls.
Encouraged by the tight knit community and the carbon-neutral blockchain with lightning fast and low cost transactions, we launched 'romanpunksio' collection on WAX Blockchain as the first step to expand the backstories of our RomanPunk characters and the baseline for future development of a card game.
RomanPunks integrated with Chainlink Labs to utilize VRF (Verified Randomness Function) to host a giveaway raffle for our holders. We developed a smart contract on Ethereum which guarantees true random number selection on chain and can be used for a wide range of functions that require random selection.
After much anticipation in the community, we released our first WAX NFT card 'pack' through the Neftyblocks platform, which sold out in less than a week.
We launched our Twitch channel and begun building an audience by offering numerous giveaways of WAX NFTs from our collection, as well as giving participants a chance to win RomanPunk ETH NFT airdrops for taking top spot at the end of the 'season'.
As firm believers in a metaverse future and land owners in The Sandbox, we undertook to build the RomanPunk Colosseum on 1x1 land and entered our experience "Gladiator Bloodsport" into a GameJam contest. We will continue to build the Colosseum into a PVP arena and social hub once The Sandbox offers creators the ability to do so.
Thanks to the user friendly tools offered by NeftyBlocks, we launched a comprehensive blending system on WAX, allowing our collectors to blend the common NFTs they earn in our Discord RPG up into Legendary famous NFTs through the use of blending 'coins' that can also be earned on the Discord as reward for helping to promote the RomanPunks project.
We launched the VX collection on Polygon. Each owner of an ETH NFT gets their voxel equivalent airdropped to them, and these NFTs can be redeemed for official NFTs on The Sandbox Marketplace once available.
All 1,000 original, unique 1:1 RomanPunk characters hand drawn by Cleopunktra and minted on OpenSea.
The RomanPunk WAX NFT Trading Card Fighter Pack Series II consists of 3 NFTs randomly selected from over 236 characters.
Upcoming plans for RomanPunks include:
Below is a comprehensive and searchable directory of all 1,000 RomanPunk Characters.
Born 69 BC in Rome, Alfredus is a retired legionnaire, early interdimensional traveler and friend of Emperor Augustus who risked sharing knowledge of the future to guarantee the success of his leader and vanquishing of their enemies. He lived a long life of anonymity to ensure his prescient wisdom was kept secret.
Born 315 AD in Aksum, Zosimus was cast into an interdimensional portal as a child sacrifice to the gods. Now he resides on the Roman Exocolony Proxima Centauri where his athletic prowess have allowed him to catapult to the top of the Celestial Badminton League (CBL) standings where he remains undefeated after seven hundred sanctioned singles matches.
Born 2178 AD in Toletum, Velia is a descendant of King Alaric I, though she finds that about as useful in Neo-Carthage as a souvenir from a forgotten war. A wealthy socialite with a penchant for the morbid, Velia moves through the city’s elite circles with detached amusement. While rebellions and smuggling rings swirl around her, she drifts through it all, unintentionally entangling herself in minor scandals—never quite realizing how close she comes to chaos.
Born 2112 AD in Neo-Galway, Lorc is a prominent spaceshipping magnate whose daughter was kidnapped by time traffickers and enslaved in the interdimensional metaverse. Now, Lorc spends countless hours plugged into the immersive darknet, financing a brigade of mercenary hackers and cyber investigators while forging a criminal empire of his own; all for the purpose of recovering his child and annihilating those responsible for the abduction.
Born 1960 AD in Valentia, Noira is a courtesan at Café Cypherpunk, a neon oasis where intergalactic metaverse denizens come to refuel and privately trade whispers of their escapades. A quiet observer by nature, Noira accidentally overhears a conspiracy that could destabilize the space-time continuum. Now, she’s marked by shadowy forces intent on silencing her, forcing her to navigate a world of intrigue far beyond her comprehension. Her only hope of survival lies in the hands of a dimension-hopping protector who may or may not arrive in time.
Born in 163 AD in Barcino, Rasmus, a common thief, was caught stealing and sentenced to fight as a gladiator against Emperor Commodus. Having no fighting experience, he was easily cut down, yet amazingly he survived and is believed to be blessed with magical healing powers.
Born in 88 AD in Salona, Callistrate led a cohort of vampire and zombie hunters deep into the heart of Dacia on orders by Trajan to destroy the scourge; however, the soldiers never returned and are believed to have been transported to a distance time and place.
Born in 333 AD in Singidunum, Jez spent his entire life in the city of his birth as a loyal guard, helping defend against invading Sarmatians. He befriended his commander Theodosius, who, after becoming Roman Emperor, hired Jez as an interdimensional henchman.
Born 191 BC in Scodra, Kthjellime was a concubine of the defeated king Gentius who disguised herself as a guard captain to avoid capture by the Romans.
Born 2125 AD in Leptis Magna, Octimius is the North African legate to Rome, using his diplomatic status to smuggle rare artifacts, interdimensional tech, and military-grade cybernetics to the Empire’s extraterrestrial elite. A trusted ally of Neo-Carthage’s governor and the cyborg Emperor Caligula, Falco leverages bribes, blackmail, and insider deals to maintain his untouchable position. His operations fuel the dark underbelly of Roman society, making him indispensable—and untouchable—in the empire’s most dangerous circles.
Born 555 BC in Babylon, Saba is the granddaughter of Nebuchadnezzar II and a Haitian dimension hopping raver from the 25th century AD who founded Elektrosar, an interdimensional electronica festival held in the Hanging Gardens. Saba travels through space and time to recruit new performers and audiences for the galaxy’s greatest EDM festival.
Born 181 AD in Adrianople, Groucho is a stand-up comedian and estranged brother of Emperor Maximinus who travels interdimensionally to lampoon political leaders in the public forum, only to disappear through a portal before he can be arrested.
Born in 131 BC in Jutland, Storm was a blacksmith in the disastrous war against the Roman forces of Gaius Marius. After their defeat, his wife, Oda, was enslaved as Marius’ concubine and he was cast into a dimensional portal to serve as a gladiator in a parallel universe of a Roman atomic age.
Born 2205 AD on a large family estate near Viminacium, Lexia ascended to prominence as the senator instrumental in ending the cyborg wars. She also leads a dual life in the narcotic-fueled underworld of interdimensional cyber raves. By day, the diligent diplomat and servant of Rome; by night, the pursuit of ecstasy among a coterie of anti-imperial aliens, vampires and time travelers.
Born 89 AD in Rome, Oppius was a member of the Punktorian Guard sent through an interdimensional portal on a reconnaissance mission by Emperor Hadrian; however, Oppius preferred the alternate 28th century AD reality and never attempted to return.
